Insights into ensuring society benefits from IoT: Living in the Internet of Things 2019

The conference provided essential insights into realising the socioeconomic benefits of an interconnected world — ensuring society can benefit from the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) while remaining safe, secure and resilient.

Professor David de Roure, PETRAS Co-Investigator and Chair of the conference, kicked off proceedings by highlighting the conference’s unique approach in bringing together industry, academia and government, with a focus on the intersection of technical and social studies of cybersecurity of the Internet of Things.

Professor de Roure added: “As well as highlighting the intersection of the social and the technical, we’ve had key insights into past and future, and the urgency in addressing IoT privacy, safety, and security.”

The following opening talk by PETRAS Director, Professor Jeremy Watson highlighted how the recently launched PETRAS National Centre of Excellence will include a new research focus of AI and machine learning.

The Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, Margot James MP then arrived at the conference to launch the new DCMS consultation on Secure by Design. This consultation will build on the extensive work which DCMS has already carried out in this area with industry, with the proposals focusing on ensuring that baseline cyber security is being built into products, by design.

The Minister concluded her speech by stressing that it was her hope that the publication of the consultation would be the start of a longer conversation about how best to approach the regulation of consumer IoT products. The full transcript of the minister’s speech is available here.

Over the next two days, conference attendees also heard from a range of speakers from industry, academia and government including keynotes from Dr Kevin Jones (Head of Cyber Security Architecture, Innovation and Scouting, Airbus UK) and Professor Tom Rodden (Chief Scientific Adviser, UK Government Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport). Attendees could also interact with a number of IoT demonstrators, such as ‘How to Stop Poachers Stealing Your Pandas’.

Professor Watson commented: “I was delighted with the quality of presentations, discussion and networking at the 2019 Living in the IoT conference, and it was a tribute to the activities of the PETRAS community that the Minister for Digital, Margot James chose our event to make her announcement of the consultation for Secure by Design. With further funding and the expanded remit of the PETRAS National Centre of Excellence to include ‘edge’ technologies, we can expect the new social-technical dimensions to provide a rich agenda for next year’s conference.”

PETRAS would like to thank our attendees, the IET for hosting the event and to the organising committee who were involved in making the event such a huge success.